


aim for the heart, shoot to kill

by rosegoldblood



Category: Among Us (Video Game), The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Among Us (Video Game) Setting, Character Death, Explicit Language, F/F, Gen, Humor, M/M, Murder Mystery, The Skeld (Among Us), Video Game Mechanics, Violence, frank zhang is a simp, lots of them - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26631358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldblood/pseuds/rosegoldblood
Summary: if you don't do it, then the other one will.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Leo Valdez/Frank Zhang, Piper McLean/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Comments: 20
Kudos: 50





	aim for the heart, shoot to kill

**Author's Note:**

> i'm getting back into my hadestown phase, can you tell? 
> 
> some context on this - they're not demigods (they don't have their powers) but the characters who have more subtle powers still have them; annabeth and leo are still geniuses and piper's very persuasive and all that. 
> 
> the skeld (the dropship) works like it does in-game, floating around in space. earth still exists (thus percy's references to us states), they're just... exploring! enjoy!

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ _**annabeth**_

annabeth's tablet beeped, and she groaned, tapping at the smooth surface of the screen to look at what she presumed was her new task; groaning when her assumptions were proven right. _navigation: chart course (middle console),_ the text said, white and infuriating in its dyslexia-friendly font.

"damn it, leo," she muttered to herself, slipping the gadget back into her backpack. with a satisfying snap annabeth tied her blonde hair into its standard ponytail, getting ready to get to work. she pressed the red switches on the door, each one clicking as she did, and the doors to the hallway slid open.

she stepped out of the cafeteria and retrieved her tablet again, this time pulling up the map. she'd already memorised the whole place, but annabeth liked to make sure - wouldn't want to do anything wrong, no matter how frustrating and repetitive the tasks were. why did the ship need tending to so often anyway? was leo really that bad at wiring his own ship?

that was beside the point, anyhow, even if annabeth grumbled as she made her way to the navigation. focusing in on her tablet screen that she rammed right into someone, nose stinging as it met the person's space suit. she rubbed at it and was about to snap when she realised who it was.

"hey, seaweed brain," annabeth said, looking up from her screen. "jeez, don't surprise me like that. one day i'm going to walk right into a knife." percy made an exasperated sound and grinned. "did valdez give you some bullshit task to do, too?"

"yep," he responded, sounding bored as ever, waving his tablet around. his wavy hair fell over his eyes, and annabeth had the urge to push it back behind his ear as he spoke. "something about wiring in navigation. you?"

annabeth perked up. "i have to chart our course in navi. which means we'll be together!" she brushed her hair behind her shoulder, pretending like she didn't care. "so let's go. at least i'll be there to make sure you don't mess it up."

when percy laughed, his hand went up to cover his mouth like he was trying to contain it. annabeth smiled when he did it now - she thought it was sweet, even if she'd never tell him. "sure, sure. hey, you know, maybe that's why we need to fix shit so often. because leo keeps telling us to do tasks he should be doing." he shoved his tablet into his backpack as they walked. "this thing would be dead in the air without him."

"you sure? more like we'll be free of him always telling us what to do," she shot back playfully. jason and percy were always arguing over who was leader, but maybe the real one was leo - they always did what he told them to do in regards to the ship, anyway, even if all he had to contribute to the group socially were bad jokes and even worse punchlines.

percy laughed again. "touche," he said as they rounded the corner, but just before they could get into navigation the lights started to dim. annabeth squinted up at the lights before they flickered, once, twice - before dying, surrounding them in near darkness. 

the only thing annabeth could see was the line of percy's arm, and she squeezed her hand around it. "stay with me," she murmured, "it's safer that way." despite the pitch-blackness around them she could see percy nod, before she pulled out her tablet and clicked it on. to annabeth's relief, it lit up as usual, and she used it as a light. "we should get to electrical."

they walked in silence. annabeth would have liked to say something, but everything was so eerie and dark, and she feared that if she spoke up something bad would happen. she'd never been particularly afraid of the dark, but she couldn't deny it was unsettling, worry curling in her gut.

before she could turn the corner, the lights flickered back on again. percy raised his eyebrows and they both heard a distant shout from piper: "fixed the lights!" annabeth breathed a sigh of relief, flushing when percy gave a laugh and patted her on the back. 

"let's go back to navi, then, we -"

the alarm blared, bathing the both of them in red light. annabeth groaned.

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ _**emergency meeting**_

"someone sabotaged the lights," leo announced. "i switched on all the lights this morning, and when they went off, all the switches on the control board were flicked down. that doesn't happen naturally. someone turned them off. and it wasn't an accident, unless anyone's hands are... _that_ big."

he narrowed his eyes before perking up, placing his oil-stained hands on his waist. "so! any suggestions? suspects?" the rest of the crew was completely quiet, and annabeth glanced around at them. piper looked bored as she messed around with her tablet, frank tapping at his own nails in what looked like nervousness. "oh, come on! i'm excited to see who y'all will throw under the bus."

" _y'all_ ," percy mocked, and jason snickered, though he made an effort to restrain himself. "texas boy." annabeth laughed, though it was more of a snort, and it made nico, who was beside her, crack a smile. leo huffed and pouted. 

"don't make fun of leo, he's just trying to help," frank protested, which made percy crack up more. frank went an embarrassingly deep shade of red. "what?" 

at this point the entire rest of the crew were trying not to laugh. "okay," percy teased, dragging the word out for effect. "we won't bother your _boyfriend_ anymore." annabeth let out a bark of laughter and frank went even redder, if that was possible.

"he is _not-!_ "

someone cleared their throat, and the rest of them went silent. reyna, though there was still an amused smile on her face, held her hand up, gesturing for them to stop. "as much as i'm enjoying this, we really should try to find out who switched off the lights. if not, it could continue to be a hazard around the ship."

at this leo brightened, the blush on his dark skin fading away. "thank you, reyna! enough with the bullying leo session. i'm your captain, thanks very much." though this garnered a few laughs, they were kind enough not to say anything aloud. "so, who's it? anyone want to fess up?"

"leo?" someone said. hazel was staring intently at her tablet, finger hovering over a checkmark button. "what's this for?" leo leaned over, and so did annabeth. there were tiny profiles of every member of their group, and when hazel tapped on each one two buttons appeared; one with a check and the other with a cross. 

"don't touch that!" he yelped, and hazel jumped at the noise. "okay, the checkmark is... an ejection button. for - you know, emergencies, i coded it so that we could... vote. on members of our group. if someone got enough votes from the others then they get... ejected."

the amusement of before was long gone, and annabeth, with hesitation and uncertainty in her voice, asked: "ejected?" how had she never noticed before? was it some kind of new update that leo added? if so, why the sudden change? she narrowed her eyes.

"yep!" he confirmed. "i just thought it'd be useful if... you know, any intruders, or... changes of heart came about." for a second his normal, cheerful face fell, to be replaced by a look just as suspicious as annabeth's - but it was back as soon as it had disappeared. "but we don't need it for now, jeez. i'm just trying to figure out who turned off the damn lights."

annabeth snorted, trying to shake away her wariness. "i don't think anyone's going to admit it. bit of an embarrassing mistake to make. let's just move on and if it happens again, we'll beat up any of our suspects 'til one of them says they did it."

"you know _suspects_ includes you -"

"meeting adjourned." 

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･

_**no one was ejected.** _

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ _**piper**_

piper watched as reyna tried to untangle the wires in the metal box near the storage room. she wasn't too good at it.

when she connected the ends of two wires of different colours a small spark flew at her and reyna jumped. piper rubbed at her face and laughed, pushing herself off the wall she was leaning on to stand beside her girlfriend. "i'm sorry," reyna apologised, "i'm just not very good at this."

"don't worry about it," piper said, taking the wires from her hands and connecting the right ones together. "we can't all be me," she joked, and reyna smiled softly. piper patted reyna on the back between the shoulder blades and her grin turned into something more genuine. "what's your next task?"

"hmm." reyna checked her tablet, tapping at its screen. "to go to electrical and divert the power to the lower engine... whatever that means. i suppose i'll figure it out," she sighed. piper checked her own tablet, which was blank, with a green bar at the top - all her tasks had been completed. "what about you?"

she slipped her tablet back into her bag and perked up. "i'll go with you. i can show you how, give you help if you need it. besides, electrical's such a creepy place. sometimes i just feel like i'm gonna get murdered in there or something." piper shivered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. "so, yeah. i'm going with you."

reyna gave her a grateful smile. "thank you," she said, leaning in to press her lips against piper's cheek. she closed the panel on the wire box with a click and they made their way down the storage room. "piper? i know this might sound weird, but have... strange things been happening around the skeld lately?"

at the look of confusion on piper's face, reyna shrugged and continued to explain. "the lights turning off yesterday. and just this morning... i know you overslept -" to which reyna gave piper a look of disapproval, responded with a snicker, "- but leo said that the oxygen filter had been contaminated. i'm worried."

"there's lots of dust and debris in space, isn't there? i wouldn't be so surprised if some of it somehow made its way in." piper patted reyna on the back. "and besides, leo's _so_ dramatic, all the time. like, yeah, he's smart, but he's got a flair for theatrics. you know that. gay people, am i right?"

she nudged reyna's side, heart skipping a beat when the latter laughed, hand over her mouth as if to hide it. reyna didn't laugh so loud and clear often, but when she did, it was bright and happy and sweetly high-pitched. piper could listen to it forever...

they stepped into the electrical, and the lights flickered on. reyna ran her hand over the metal of the panel and unlocked the latch, flipping it open to reveal wires, electricity coursing through them. she stared at them in confusion for a second, and piper reached out to tap the device in the middle.

"just turn it around so that the electricity's connected," she said, and reyna responded with a rather cute _oh._ piper winded her fingers together behind her head and strolled around the room, though the smile fell off her face when she reached the back, stopping dead in her tracks.

blood pooled at her feet, seeping across the metal floor. pale skin turned all shades of grey and other sickly colours that made piper want to puke right then, because laying on the ground, dead, brown eyes empty and mouth half-open - was nico di angelo.

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ _**dead body reported**_

"i'm sorry," piper said, hesitantly, voice soft and thick with emotion. her fingers twitched, hovering over percy's shoulder, but at the last moment she decided against that - his face was buried in his arms and he wasn't moving at all. 

annabeth laid her hand on piper's arm and shook her head, but leo wasn't so delicate. "so," he declared, and the sound made hazel jump. her eyes were rimmed red, face flushed, and there were tear tracks down her face. "we have to find out who did this. my money's on whoever switched the lights off and contaminated the oxygen tank." 

his humour was gone now, replaced by a cold kind of seriousness that only came with dire situations. "and if it's you, any of you." his eyes scanned the room and he crossed his arms. "confess before we go with annabeth's less nice idea."

"it wasn't me," hazel spoke up first, rubbing at her eyes, and leo softened. i went to admin to swipe my card. then i went to -" she sniffed, "- i went to weapons to shoot the - the asteroids. i didn't even go near electrical, i swear." her voice cracked. "it wasn't me. it wasn't me."

"it's okay, hazel," leo said, patting her on the shoulder with caution and gentleness. "we believe you. yeah, it's not hazel. and it's not percy or jason, either, i saw them both on cams." he tapped at his cheek. "well, that's assuming the body was killed only shortly before it was discovered. you guys are still suspects!" he turned to the both of them, and percy took a shaky breath.

for the first time since the meeting had been called, percy spoke. "reyna." his voice was hoarse and dull, causing reyna to look up. piper squeezed her hand under the table. "piper reported the body. where were you?

reyna looked down. "i was with piper. we were -" she coughed, and piper leaned into her just a little to comfort her, "- in storage. fixing the wiring. then we went to electrical to divert the power toward the lower engines. that's where we... found the body." 

"and you didn't report it." leo's voice wasn't exactly accusing, but his narrowed eyes certainly were.

"why would i? piper already did. we were together, piper can tell you." her eyes narrowed back at leo's, and they stared at each other from across the table. "i didn't kill nico. end of discussion."

leo backed down, as anyone would when faced with reyna. "fine, fine," he said, pulling out his tablet. "since we have no information or clues for now, we'll just skip the voting. wouldn't want to eject anyone innocent -"

"wait," annabeth interrupted, "where were _you_ , leo?"

a tense silence fell over them. percy clenched his hands into fists and turned to look at leo, eyes stormy and narrowed. "i was in medbay, with frank. he can tell you." his hip jutted out and bumped against frank's arm as he crossed his own arms. "right, frank?"

frank stumbled over his words, and though at first piper thought it was suspicious, she figured anyone would be shaken after the event. his nose was red and his face flushed, and he nodded. "uh, yeah. i was - i was with leo. it wasn't him, and it wasn't me, either."

though piper was ready enough to give him the benefit of the doubt, annabeth apparently wasn't. she leaned forward, blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. "and what exactly where you two doing in the medbay? i don't recall any samples being collected for examination."

"none of your beeswax," was leo's quick response, and if it weren't for everything piper would have laughed at the word. as it were, she was too bleak and stressed to do anything but shift in her seat and frown. "i was doing the body scan, if you need to know. and you're not the captain of the ship, so don't get all bossy."

"yeah, where were _you,_ annabeth?" frank asked, and annabeth sighed.

she responded, calm and collected and put-together as always: "in the cafeteria, getting a drink from the vending machine. i think hazel saw me at one point, didn't you?" hazel nodded, rubbing at her eyes. "someone here's lying."

"and we don't know who it is." leo's voice was more somber now, and though annabeth still looked wary, she couldn't contest what he'd said. "let's just... skip the vote, and hope we can catch them in the act before anyone else..." his voice trailed off, like he couldn't finish the sentence. "yeah."

the beeping of buttons being selected filled the room, and piper tapped her own button. she squeezed reyna's hand once more and sighed, looking around the room. at her friends, who she trusted and admired.

one of them was lying. and she had to find out who.

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ 

_**no one was ejected.** _

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ _**percy**_

"- relief no one was ejected," annabeth was saying, though percy wasn't really listening. he struggled to swipe his card through the scanner in the admin office. it was always either too fast, too slow, or a bad read (whatever the fuck that meant), and his frustration was mounting as annabeth talked beside him. "not without proof. percy, do you need help?"

"no," he snapped, sighing, running his fingers through his black hair. then, quietly: "yeah." percy handed the card over to annabeth, who swiped it. "i'm - i'm sorry, ann. i'm just... you know." the scanner beeped, and annabeth handed percy back his card. "ugh."

to his relief, all annabeth did was pat him on the shoulder. "i understand." and perhaps she did, because her smile was tired and weak and there were dark circles under her eyes. "you need time, and that's okay. just know i'll be with you."

he leaned against the wall, rubbing at the fabric of his shirt. "i'm worried," he admitted, crossing his arms. "it's not just... him. it's everything. who would do this? is it some kind of freaky mind control thing? is there some sort of impostor? or is one of our friends really some kind of... blood-thirsty monster?"

the weight of annabeth's head on his shoulder was comforting, in a way. "trust me, seaweed brain, i worry too." despite everything the familiar nickname made him smile. a sense of normalcy among all the chaos. "i stay up all night thinking... but it's better not to dwell on it. not until we have more information or clues." 

"right. of course. thanks, babe." he took a deep breath, feeling a little less stressed, like he could breathe easier. percy checked his tablet. "shields next. i need to prime them. you're done with your tasks, right? will you come with?"

"i'd come even if they weren't done," annabeth said, linking her hand through percy's, "now more than ever the buddy system is important." the factual tone of her voice made him smile. this was the girl he knew, the one he trusted and cared for, and he could always find solace in her. "so let's go."

she walked out of the office, gesturing for him to follow. they walked along the hallway, alert, jumping at every creak on the floor panels and every flashing of a light bulb. they made it to the storage room before annabeth's tablet beeped. "new task, probably," she groaned, pulling it out, "you go on ahead first..." 

despite his worry, percy nodded and went ahead, through the corridor, among the beeping lights. he stepped through the doorway and into the shields room.

he noticed the slamming of a vent panel before he noticed the body. a hand coming to close the metal above them, wearing the usual grey gloves that they'd been given. percy took a step back, stomach lurching, the metallic sound ringing in his ears over and over again.

his shoe stepped into the pool of blood gathering at his feet as his eyes pricked with tears, overwhelming and hot. he was frozen in place, because - no, it couldn't be true, it couldn't be - footsteps thumping behind him, but he couldn't bring himself to care, not with jason on the ground, his eyes that were once vibrant and blue so dull and empty. it couldn't be. that wasn't jason.

footsteps came to a halt behind him, and as percy turned to look at annabeth, tablet in hand, the alarm started to blare.

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ **_dead body reported_**

all eyes were on annabeth.

in most situations, she'd like that. percy knew that annabeth liked to be in control, liked to be the one that people looked to for help, liked to be the centre of attention. that was fine. it was just another thing that percy loved about her.

but now her face was pale, hair loose and tangled and a complete mess as she'd knotted her fingers through it in stress. her breaths were shaky, trying to stay as calm as possible. there were tear tracks down her face. "i saw it," she said, voice barely a whisper, and percy's heart sunk.

"what, annabeth?" hazel asked, voice soft and trembling, dark brown eyes filled with tears as well. her curly hair was tied back into a ponytail as she spoke, slowly, as if to a scared animal. "wh - what did you see?"

she sniffed, a steely look in her eyes that percy recognised as one she got when she was trying to be as strong and as intimidating as possible. "jason. dead. on the ground." her eyes lifted to percy, slowly, hesitantly. "and percy. standing by him... but it wasn't him. i know."

reyna stood up, crossing her arms. "well, if percy was there when you entered and there was no one else around, our only suspect would be him, yes?" annabeth raised her eyebrows. "i say it's him. unless... you have any proof to defend yourself."

"when i entered the room," percy interrupted, and reyna narrowed her eyes, "the shields room. i saw someone enter the vent and leave the room through it. i - i didn't see who exactly it was, but i saw - them. their hand... i swear it wasn't me. it was whoever went through the vents."

"percy." this time it was frank who spoke. his face was flushed red and his fingers were scrunching into the fabric of his shirt as he bit at his lip, distressed. "i was at the shields room just a few minutes before the body was reported. and i didn't see anyone." a weight felt like it was sinking into percy's stomach. "i'm - i'm sorry. percy, you're my best friend, but jason -" he trailed away, voice getting softer.

he stammered to come up with an explanation. _it wasn't me. it wasn't. please believe me._ "well, then, someone came in during that period of time! it doesn't take too long to kill somebody, you know, they could have - done it quick and left just as i arrived -"

"you know you sound really defensive for someone who says they're innocent, right?" leo commented, and reyna raised an eyebrow at percy. "i hate to say it, perce. i don't want to believe you're guilty, but it just sounds like -"

"wait."

the loud, clear tone of annabeth's voice was different from how she'd spoken before, so different that everyone in the room fell quiet and turned to look at her once again. "don't eject percy." she turned to look at him, a sad smile on her face, before it disappeared just as quickly. "it was me."

percy opened his mouth to protest, but annabeth cut him off. "i'm sorry. it's okay, percy. you don't have to cover for me anymore." she laid a hand on his arm, forcing percy back into his seat. "i told percy to cover for me, so i could get away with it. but it was me. i did it."

he looked to her, annabeth staring coldly at the rest of the crew, all frozen in place as they watched annabeth admit what she'd done so unabashedly. "and i don't regret it," she said, voice soft but not timid at all. "the only thing i regret is bringing percy into this."

frank took a shaky breath. "but - but -" his eyes were watery, but he seemed to decide against saying anything in the end, tapping the eject button on his tablet in silence. piper was flushed as she tapped her own, and slowly, the beeping of the confirmation rang around the room.

"ann - annabeth -" before he knew it, annabeth's arms were wrapping around him, strong and firm and warm like they had always been. she hugged him, possibly for the last time, and percy couldn't stop his fingers from shaking as he curled them into her shirt, "was it - really? was it you?"

"of course not, don't be stupid," annabeth whispered, blonde hair tickling his cheek as it began to come loose from her ponytail, "but i'm not letting you die. not for me." she closed her eyes for a second, before they fluttered open again, and she heaved a sigh. "i love you, seaweed brain. don't you forget it."

she pulled away, smiling sadly. percy's finger hovered over the button, and a beep sounded through the room as he clicked _skip vote,_ even as he knew it wouldn't do anything. a screen was projected onto the wall, and percy shut his eyes as annabeth's profile flashed, letting the tears slide down his cheeks.

"i love you too, ann."

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ 

**_annabeth was ejected._ **

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ **_leo_**

leo's hands shook as he held the wires, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get them to stop.

eventually he gave up on the wires, leaning back and sighing. he curled his fingers into his shirt and slipped off his glove, staring at his scarred hands, trembling ever so slightly. leo gritted his teeth and willed them to stop, but they didn't. letting out a huff of annoyance, he turned to come face-to-face with -

"frank," he said, catching frank's hand in his and smiling, even if it was shaky and a little nervous, "hey. hi. hello. it's nice to... see you." despite everything frank smiled back, brown eyes soft and sweet and warm like they always were. "should we... i dunno. talk?"

"yeah, of course," frank replied, "but i have to - um. go to the bathroom, actually." frank bounced on his heels and leo laughed, high and clear and lost in his own amusement. he wished that he could be like this always, that things could be okay and normal again, and the biggest problem he had was whether frank zhang would like him back. "but i'll talk to you later, okay? i want to. in the med bay."

leo raised his eyebrows and flushed. "med bay? sure. great. cool beans. awesome-sauce. can't wait." he grinned, crooked, and frank giggled. when frank waved and turned to walk away, leo grabbed his wrist. "frank? if i - if something happens."

"don't say that."

his voice was stern but somehow also filled with sadness, and leo looked down. "i know, i know. i mean, i don't want anything to happen, either. but in case something _does_ \- like, you know, always helps to be prepared - i just want you to know. that i like you. a lot. i like you a lot. i love you. that's what i'm trying to say."

it was silent for a moment, in which leo felt like he was having a panic-induced seizure, before frank leaned forward and pressed his lips to leo's forehead. his face was about as red as a tomato as he pulled away, but he was smiling earnestly. leo felt his lips curving into a smile as he dumbly stared at the boy in front of him. _he kissed me! he kissed me! he k -_

"i love you too, lion," he said, and though his voice was strained it was also genuine. almost painfully so as he waved and walked away, footsteps echoing down the hallway. leo pressed his fingers to his forehead and laughed again, and it was all he could do to bring his other hand up in a crooked wave.

he turned on his heel and started walking down the corridor, and even if his mind was still going crazy leo could register the fact that he needed to get to admin to swipe his card. then he could go to the med bay and wait for frank. yeah. that sounded like a good course of action.

leo made it to admin, and though he questioned how he got his card out and ran it through the scanner. it beeped red and told him it was a bad read. sighing and shaking his head to focus, leo swiped it again. it was green this time, and he slipped it back into his pocket.

med bay. med bay. med bay. right. maybe he shouldn't have been focusing so much on what was to come, but hey, could he help it? no, he was just way too excited. who could blame him for looking forward to the very thing he'd wanted for years?

he could go through the engines and the reactor and up to the med bay. that was good. it was longer route, but that was fine. he didn't want to be too early, either, especially since he'd gotten the card swipe done so quick. leo ran his hands along the metal walls and hummed.

deep inside he felt a little bad for being so happy, so soon after his friends had... passed, but that was what he was good at. he'd done it all his life - pushing things away, repressing his feelings. guilt weighed in his heart and he hoped that annabeth hadn't been lying, that it really had been her. that they could get this over with and move on, even without her and nico and jason...

god, it'd be so hard. but he'd have to try. and he could do that with frank, once he got to this med bay to talk things out.

he was at the upper engines now, nearly vibrating from excitement. leo tucked his hair behind his ear and turned the corner, down the hallway, to enter the med bay, though his smile disappeared when he peered inside.

his hands started to shake again. "piper?" leo's voice cracked at her name - at his _best friend's_ name - brown hair splayed on the floor, blood pouring out of a wound in her head. her skin, usually so warm and vibrant, was dulling and paling, and it made him sick. it made leo want to puke all over the floor, because that was piper. that was his _best friend._

how would reyna react? tears pricked at leo's eyes just at the thought. that her girlfriend was dead? that she'd been killed just like all the rest? and what about percy, whose girlfriend had been ejected for nothing? all because they'd failed to see who this imposter was in time -

leo was so caught up in his own thoughts he almost didn't notice the knife going through his stomach.

"no," he whispered, but pain was already shooting through his system like a gunshot. it seized him suddenly, the burning agony that raced through his nerves as he fell to his knees, panting and choking and gasping for breath. "y - no. please."

"i'm sorry," frank said, and he really did seem sorry. everything was becoming numb, the pain in his stomach easing. it was better now, even if it was harder to focus. "i really am, leo. but i have to do this." a knife clattered to the floor as leo whimpered. 

with the last of his strength his eyes drifted to frank's, just like it had so many times before. and even now, even with everything, he couldn't bring himself to hate frank - not with that sad, regretful look on his bloodstained face. "so it was a lie, huh," he managed, "everything."

a hand went up to cup his cheek, and in a strange, terrible way it brought him comfort. "of course not, leo," frank murmured under his breath, "never. i loved you. i still love you now, even." 

he couldn't do anything to stop it, and even if he could, leo wasn't particularly sure if he would have. instead he let frank smile and brush the hair out of leo's face as he died, blood-slick hands twitching. "easy," frank whispered, a soft, melancholy smile still on his face, "i love you, leo. i do."

and despite everything, leo mouthed the words back:

_i love you too._

･ ｡ ☆∴｡ * ･ﾟ*｡★･ 


End file.
